HIBS 2 HEARTS 0 SEE SPORT FOR ALL THE REACTION
NEIL LENNON last night rammed Craig Levein’s jibes down Jambo throats – then branded the Tynecastle side an irrelevance.
The Hibs boss was thrilled as his men demolished their derby foes 2-0 at Easter Road to romp 12 points ahead with a game in hand in the battle to be the capital’s top dogs.
Lennon was riled by Levein’s claim “natural order” had been restored in Edinburgh after the Jambos were
victorious in January’s Scottish Cup clash.
His side avenged that defeat last night – and the gaffer took great satisfaction in highlighting the gulf between the sides.
Lennon said: “We’re delighted. We’ve inched closer to the boys above us and opened up a major gap between us and Hearts.
“They are irrelevant to us now. We are looking up the table rather than what’s behind us.
“I don’t want to get into another verbal spat but when you make these statements they will always come back to haunt you at some stage.
“It has come back to haunt him after four or five weeks.
“We’ve got the bragging rights back. For how long, I don’t know, but the gap in the table is huge and it’s huge on the pitch as well.”
Scott Allan and Jamie Maclaren slotted second-half stunners as Hibs put their foot on the gas after a brutal opening period.
Lennon’s midfield ran the show and he hailed his playmakers for dismantling the Jambos.
He said: “We were outstanding. We had to be patient. Hearts played well defensively and made life very difficult.
“The psychology of the team was good, especially in the second half where we were strong. We got the goals at the right times.
“I wouldn’t say Scotty was having a rough moment in the game but a few things weren’t coming off for him.
“The difference in him from maybe six months or a year ago is he didn’t let his head go down.
“He kept wanting the ball and trying to be brave. His goal was just exquisite.
“He started to tire at the end but you see him getting back in the corner to make a tackle and get us out of trouble.
“He can be delighted with his contribution. Dylan McGeouch is a sublime player and John McGinn was absolutely awesome.
“Even when the game was in the throes of the first half he was the man driving the team forward, making tackles and getting us playing.
“In the second half he was the best player on the pitch by a country mile, just brilliant.
“It was the sum of all parts. The strikers were good, the back three was strong, we could have scored a few more.
“We’ve handled the psychology of a big game again.”
Dejected Jambos boss Levein admitted the league table doesn’t lie – and a gulf in quality existed between the sides.
He said: “It’s hard for me to say no because the points tell a story don’t they?
“This game is typical of the way the season has gone for both teams. We didn’t quite manage to gel and Hibs kept at it and got two goals through persistence more than anything else.”
Levein was left with egg on his face but insisted the natural order wind-up wasn’t to blame for his side crashing to a painful derby defeat.
He said: “Hibs played exactly how I expected them to play.
“We just didn’t do well enough in possession. I have plenty things to complain about, mainly the defending for both goals.
“The game was very even, there weren’t many chances.
“We competed just as much as they did but we lost two goals from just not doing our jobs properly which is frustrating.
“We did reasonably well until we got to the final third.
“Our best players could have done better. We had opportunities to play that final pass or hit the target and we didn’t do it well enough.
“The frustrating thing is we went toe to toe, I didn’t feel we were under any pressure at all and losing those goals was sickening.
“Everybody can have a day where things don’t quite work for them. I can’t accuse them of not competing – it was a competitive match and both teams were up for it as they say.
“But the moments where we did need that bit of composure we didn’t find it.”